To Facebook Hashtag or Not? That Is The Question!

To Facebook Hashtag or Not? That Is The Question!

You have the perfect content ready to post on your Facebook Fan Page. Should you use a hashtag or not? As a rule, the more hashtags you use, the less engaged your audience will be. Can #’s help you?

Posts with 1 or 2 hashtags averaged 593 interactions

3 to 5 hashtags averaged 416 interactions

6 to 10 hashtags averaged 307 interactions

More than 10 hashtags averaged 188 interactions

(SocialBakers, “Hashtags increasingly popular on Facebook”. 2 April 2014.)

According to the findings by EdgeRank Checker, hash-tagged posts don’t have the expected increase in viral reach, due to how brands are using them. As a result, hashtags used in campaigns and promotions generally drive less engagement.

Hashtags were designed to create and continue the conversation around relevant topics. One well placed hashtag can drive traffic to your site and have your audience promoting it for you. It also extends your content past your own audience without paid media. Therefore, savvy users scrolling through hashtags they will easily find your content. For those who may not be socially savvy, they can easily skip over them.

So how should you use hashtags?

HASHTAG #STRATEGICALLY!

Strategically and correctly placed. A hashtag in the middle of a sentence can either be distracting or annoying; shifting the focus from your message.

Use your hashtag as a communication tool; making it a win-win-win situation. Creating interest gives marketers the opportunity to expand their reach to an interested prospect and allow users to discover content, products and offers.

HASHTAG #MINIMALLY

Generally, use 1 or 2 hashtags. Keep them short, sweet and easy to remember. This enables your posts to be more searchable.

HASHTAG #ANALYTICS ACROSS PLATFORMS

Social monitoring, hashtags can be used to quickly check what others are saying. Not only can this help you measure positive, neutral, and/or negative sentiment it also reveals if your hashtag has gained traction.

HASHTAG #JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Piggybacking on popular hashtags. This has certainly increased Adrienne J Media’s visibility on Facebook. Recently, our hashtags #officefun, #snapchat and #dayofaction have boosted engagement on our social media postings.

HASHTAG #FINAL THOUGHT

So here we are; we see you at the junction of “is this necessary?” We say, why not? Go for it. Give it a try…in moderation!